Listen, my friend, do you hear the cries of
the oppressed? Every day men, women, and children around the world cry out in
despair for relief from oppression. They cry out for relief from drugs,
alcohol, pornography, and other evils that hold them or loved ones in bondage. Listen, my friend, do you hear the cries of the oppressed? They cry out for
relief from cruel spouses or cruel parents, relief from discrimination, relief
from harsh employers, relief from repressive governments, and other oppression.

The cries of the oppressed touch the heart
of God because oppression degrades us. And God wants us to be free from the sin that
crushes our spirits and keeps us from living a life of liberty. God is the
champion of the oppressed. God wants to deliver us from evil so that we can
enjoy social, political, personal, and religious liberty.

First of all, let’s define liberty. Many
Americans confuse liberty with license. So, what is liberty? Liberty is freedom from
social, religious, or political bondage. An example is when we granted liberty
to the slaves. On the other hand, license is unrestrained freedom. It is
an abuse of freedom. License disregards legal or moral restraints. The cry for liberty is often a cry
for license. For example, advocates of pornography argue it is freedom of
speech. They refuse to admit its harmful effects on the individual and
society. Of course, we know that pornographic is just a whitewashed name
for material that's lewd, lascivious, obscene, indecent, lustful, improper,
filthy, vulgar, foul, dirty, impure, lecherous, lurid, sordid, shameless,
wanton, licentious, depraved, and so forth.

Liberty frees us to live a joyful and
fulfilling life in a safe, peaceful, and healthful society. Liberty upholds what
is best for everyone. License upholds self-indulgence. Liberty lifts us up;
license drags us down.

Our Heavenly Father declares liberty, not
license: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty
for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).
Likewise, America’s founding fathers declared liberty, not license: “We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (The Declaration of Independence).

On the other hand, license is oppression.
Oppressors take too much liberty of action. They abuse freedom.
They wrongly believe they are free to be cruel and unjust. Oppressors
ignore our natural
rights, reign with an iron hand, and crush our liberty.

There are two types of oppression – internal
oppression and external oppression. First, there is the oppression we bring
upon ourselves – internal oppression. Internal oppression is self-inflicted.
Internal oppression is when we put ourselves in bondage by self-destructive
behavior such as drugs, alcohol, pornography, and other sins that keep us
dependent on them. These short-lived pleasurable cravings have long-term
destructive effects. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, and so forth destroy us when
we give in to these violent passions. Self-love and self-gratification control
us; we oppress ourselves. Sadly, the effects are far-reaching, ripping through
the home, the community, and the nation causing mass destruction and death.

For example, a drunkard (alcoholic) destroys
not only himself, but also his family. It affects his job. And it may lead
to other serious results such as drunk driving and killing innocent
victims. You know the current slogan, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”
Well, what about “Friends don’t let friends get drunk”?

However, some allege that these degrading and immoral
practices are a disease. They also allege gambling is a disease. To concede
self-gratification is a disease would free the drunkard, drug addict, and lecher
of all responsibility and accountability. Evil habits aren’t a physical disease;
evil habits are a spiritual disease - hedonism. However, when we lack
self-control and self-discipline, our self-abuse often causes physical
disease. When we weaken and give in to powerful evil passions, we weaken our
will power. Unfortunately, evil takes such a powerful grip over our soul, that
often it holds us in bondage. Our soul becomes a dark, foul, shameful dungeon
filled with the filth and stench of these loathsome habits. We become a prisoner
to our own evil desires. In other words, these evil passions enslave us. They
take away our freedom to live a godly and joyful life. They enslave us. They
destroy our liberty.

Often when suffering from internal
oppression, we refuse to admit we’re enslaved to these evil habits. We ignore
the cries and pleas of loved ones and friends to stop our
self-abuse. Unfortunately, we love ourselves more than anyone, even God. We are
interested in only one person – Self. We are consumed with self-will,
self-interest, self-seeking, self-gratification, self-indulgence, and
self-love. Our uncontrolled passion for drinking, drugs, pornography, and other
evil burns so strongly that it consumes our noble, godly desires to do good.

And if we decide to break free, it’s not so
easy! The harder we pull on the chains of sin that grip our soul, the tighter
their grip. We need someone stronger than ourselves to break the chains, open
the prison door, and set us free! Of course, the only One who can deliver us
from our evil passions is Jesus. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke
4:18). The word bruised means oppressed.

We must ask Jesus to give us a clean
heart. After committing adultery, David cried unto the Lord: “Purge me
with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm
51:7, 10). President Bush openly proclaims that God delivered him from a
drinking problem when he was a young man. “Christ . . . changed my heart,” Mr.
Bush said during a 1999 presidential debate. Christ alone can transform
the unrighteous into the righteous.

In the early church, Paul warns the
Corinthians that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God (I
Corinthians 6:9, 10). Paul then testifies about Christ's power to deliver
us, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are
sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11). Let me repeat that, “And such
were some of you.” Christ broke their chains of sin! In other words,
Christ set them free!

Before leaving internal oppression, I want
to tell you the true story of Tom, a religious churchgoer. On the outside, he
looked like a saint. However, his soul was filled with evil passions. In the
privacy of his own house, he allowed his dark side free reign. He was
imprisoned by booze, pornography, and other filthy passions. Tom told me the
following experience: “One Sunday morning in church, during the altar call, God
spoke to me. He said, ‘Tom, if you will go to the altar this morning, I will
deliver you from all your evil desires.’ But I didn’t want delivered, so I
didn’t go.”

What do you think about that? Christ the
Deliverer was reaching out to deliver Tom from all his sinful, filthy habits.
But he refused liberty! Picture it this way. For years, a miserable, tormented
young man is locked in a dark, foul prison surrounded by the stench of booze,
pornography, and other filth. Christ comes and knocks at the prison door. The
Deliverer offers to cleanse and heal the prisoner’s soul. He mercifully offers
to set the prisoner free! Does the wretched prisoner accept the offer of
deliverance with a heartfelt sigh of relief? No! He scornfully tells the
Deliverer, “Go away!” He refuses to open his heart. He desires to remain
imprisoned in his squalor.

Christ won’t break down the door. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Notice it is up to us to let Him
in. We have to open the door. He won’t
force us to open our hearts to Him. The choice is ours. That’s free will.

And let me mention lust. John was enslaved to soft core pornography – lingerie
catalogs. You know the ones I’m talking about. They are so blasphemous often
the models are dressed as angels! Sadly, he had these catalogs all over
his house. One day he confessed, “Karen, I think about these women all the
time. I can’t think of anything else.” At times, he determined to
give up lusting after these women. However, one evening he told me he knew in his heart it’s wrong to lust
after these women, but if he was enslaved by lust, he didn’t want to be set
free. Another person who refused to let Christ set him free!

Now let’s move on to the second type
of oppression - external oppression. What is external oppression? External
oppression is when someone thrusts the yoke of bondage upon us. It is the
heavy burden of cruelty forced on us against our will. Oppressors
crush us by abuse of power or authority. Oppressors rule by intimidation.
Oppressors are cruel and unjust. Oppressors use their physical, religious, intellectual,
political, marital, or social authority or power to gain their will over us.
We, the oppressed, must bend to the absolute unreasonable will of the
oppressor. Oppressors force us to suppress our needs, talents, feelings,
beliefs, and actions.

Oppressors are cruel and unjust
because they often feel we are beneath them and should be kept down. Others
oppress because they feel inferior to us and want to punish us. Oppressors love
to humiliate us because it makes them feel powerful. It makes them feel
important. It makes them feel superior. They despise us and treat us like
property, like animals. Oppressors demean us because there is hatred in their
hearts.

Unquestionably, oppressors must
repent. They must right the wrongs. To
refuse to repent is to refuse to bind a gaping wound that you have inflicted on
someone. You must make amends. When you oppress someone, God is against you
unless you repent. Repenting and righting the wrong is evidence that you
confess your fault and are truly sorry for harming the other person. It begins
the process of healing broken hearts, broken homes, and broken relationships.
Repentance opens the door to reconciliation. If he repents, forgive him (Luke
17:3). Reconciliation to others results in reconciliation to Christ. Yet,
hardhearted oppressors refuse to repent and continue to intimidate, despise,
demean, and crush others.

At this very moment, millions of men, women, and children in
America and around the world are crying out for relief from
oppression. Political tyrants, domineering spouses, cruel parents, harsh
employers, and other oppressors make their lives miserable and unbearable. The
downtrodden cry out to God, "Deliver us!"

Thankfully, God hears the cries of the oppressed. God
heard the cries of the children of Israel. “Now therefore, behold, the cry
of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the
oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them” (Exodus 3:9).
Did God turn a deaf ear to their pleas for help? No! God heard their
plea for help and sent Moses to deliver them. God set the children of Israel
free! Moses led the Israelites out of the land of bondage to the land of
liberty. Moses was the champion of the oppressed in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament, Jesus is the
champion of the oppressed. Christ came to deliver us from the bondage of
internal and external oppression. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke
4:18). The word bruised means oppressed. Jesus came to set the oppressed
free. Jesus came to conquer oppressors.

Oppressors are heartless tyrants that
abuse their power. Oppressors are evildoers; oppressors are enemies of
liberty. Oppressors are
enemies of man and enemies of God. Christians must actively fight oppression,
not willingly accept things as they are. We must put on the whole armor of God
to fight spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6:10-17). We must overcome the great
evil empire of oppression.

Now an oppressor doesn’t necessarily
hold a political position. Oppressors aren’t just dictators of oppressive
governments. They can be found in homes, at work, in churches, and other
places. Listen closely. Do you hear the cries of the oppressed all around
you?

Listen, my friend, do you hear the
cries of oppressed spouses who suffer from the brutal blows of heavy-handed
husbands or wives? It may be emotional, mental, economic, or physical abuse, and
other cruel acts. Domineering husbands and wives oppress their spouses by
unfairly scolding them, grinding them down, and making their lives bitter.
They cause their spouses to be fearful, submissive, and discourage
them from action. They demean and degrade their spouses, crush their spirits, and
force them to submit to their will. The oppressed spouses cry out, “Who will
deliver us?"

Listen, my friend, do you hear the
cries of oppressed children who suffer from harsh words, brutal blows, and other
heartless acts of cruel parents and other persons? Woe unto those who hurt
children! Jesus warns those who offend children that it would be better if
a millstone were hanged around his neck, and he were drowned in the sea (Matthew
18:6). Children who should be
enjoying the sunshine of youth are cast down into darkness and despair. The
oppressed children cry out, "Who will deliver us?"

Listen, my friend, do you hear the
cries of oppressed workers as they labor under the cruelty of harsh taskmasters?
They cry out from the cruel and unjust lashes of employers who pay workers as
little as possible, trample their feelings, and ignore their moral and civil
rights. Some employers are so self-important they refuse to accept the God-given
abilities and talents of employees. They demand the work be done their way,
even if the employee has better ideas. Sadly, unless we enjoy some degree of
freedom in our daily job, our natural right to exercise our God-given faculties
of mind and will is thwarted, and our lot becomes that of slaves who merely do
the bidding of others. Millions of workers around the world suffer misery and
personal indignity on their jobs daily. Oppressive employers spit on their
employees’ human dignity. The oppressed workers cry out, “Who will deliver us?”

Listen, my friend, do you hear the
cries of women and minorities oppressed by discrimination? Yes, we’ve come a
long way, but women and minorities are still enslaved by discrimination,
especially in the South. Sadly, the Bible belt is probably the region in America with
the strongest resistance to equality. Many professing Christians despise women
and minorities. Oh, yes, they profess to hold up the Biblical truth of
equality, but refuse to actually uphold both man’s law and God’s Law of
equality. They persecute, demean, and degrade women and minorities. The
oppressed women and minorities cry out, “Who will deliver us?”

Listen, my friend, do you hear the
cries of oppressed subjects who cringe under the iron fist of a brutal political
regime? Dictators, despots, and tyrants live in splendor while their subjects
live in deprivation, poverty, and other human misery and suffering. The
oppressors refuse the downtrodden a voice in the government. They crush their
liberty. Our oppressed brothers and sisters around the world cry out, “Who will
deliver us?”

Listen, my friend, to the cries of the
oppressed from the dungeon of oppression: "Who will deliver us?" Listen to the
cries of those who are cast down into darkness, misery, and despair: "Who will
deliver us?" All around the world, men and women and children are crying out for
deliverance from internal and external oppression. Some cry aloud; some cry
silently in their hearts: “Who will deliver us?"

Today God is searching for willing
hearts and willing hands to answer the cries of the oppressed: "Who will deliver
us?" Listen, my friend, do you hear God calling,
"Whom shall I send, and who will go
for us?" Will you lift up your voice and answer,
"Here am I; send me"?